Constitution War
The Constitution War was a civil conflict that broke out in early 820KF, between military forces loyal to Emperor Richard I and the Kymurian Liberal Party, who attempted to install a limited constitution as a reform effort, and forces loyal to Grand Marshal Thaddeus von Karl and the Kymurian Conservative Party, who saw the constitution as a violation of the King Huw Proclamation. (The authority of the monarch is all-powerful, there shall be no opposition following the pronouncements of his word, and nothing short of ULTIMA MATRA shall unseat him.) Background Upon coming to the throne, the 17 year old Emperor Richard I was faced with a great deal of internal problems. Following the disastrous War of Thirst fought by his father, Kymuria had been embarrassed abroad, and the economy and finance sectors were in ruins. The most pressing matter was the growing urban discontent, as well as a serious crisis of confidence in the government by the Kymurian Liberal Party, who dominated the Noble Council by 344-57 thanks to backlash against the lords of the Eastern Great Party who had spent a great deal of their efforts stirring up support for the war in Anjuin, then refusing to send necessary troops and war materiel. It should be noted that the bulk of liberal lords were new "CuffmenThe term "cuffman" refers to a newly made aristocrat who's fortune originated in trade, not inheritance. So called because younger elites tended to wear extravagant shirt cuffs to distinguish themselves." who's families had become wealthy via business or trade and had been made peers of the realm within the last three generations, whereas the conservative lords were practically all landed aristocrats with family peerages dating back for centuries. Although the new Conservative Alliance was now greatly weakened in the Noble Council, it still held vast influence over the government, (6/8 members of the privy council were members of the Conservative Alliance) and controlled a combined wealth spiralling into the tens of millions. The Church The most hotly debated matter between the two parties was the extent of powers granted to the Angelican Church. Conservatives remained faithful to it and fought for its economic and social power to be maintained. They also wanted to retain the monopoly of education, to prevent infiltrating liberal ideas. Similarly, they tried to keep military courts thus maintaining their autonomy. Conservative ideas were based on moral and religious ideas applied to various fields such as respect for family, traditions, individual and community property. They sought rulers who were honest and worthy bearers of traditional values. Liberals were in favour of a binding legal system, plus an end to most church privileges. Grand Marshal Thaddeus Von Karl The leader of the Conservative Alliance, Grand Marshal Thaddeus von Karl, was an outspoken but decidedly nonintellectual militarist, who had in fact lobbied against the old Eastern Great Party's (the Conservative Alliance's predecessor) Anjuin War Bill. In the aftermath of that debacle, Despite his image as a scheming but brutish giant of a man (he was 6ft 5 and strongly built) Von Karl had secured himself as the CA's chairman, and was hired as the young Emperor Richard's military tutor, giving him unprecedented levels of access to the Emperor, although despite his efforts the Emperor remained sympathetic to liberal ideas. Viscount Lucas Tristam The Council-leader of the Conservative Alliance and their main intellectual heavyweight was the nobleman-lawyer Lucas Tristam, 1st Viscount of Morrentown. He was relatively young (36 at the outbreak of war) and an extremely adept Conservative politician. In his youth he had almost joined the Liberal Party, but after witnessing the sacking of a manor by some liberated peasants, and the subsequent and indiscriminate slaughter of all those inside, he became a staunch conservative in every aspect, convinced that a strong combination of Church, Military and State was the only thing keeping Kymuria from sliding into anarchy. His trilogy of books, ''The Legacy of King Huw, ''complicated Kymurian history and politics from a very conservative perspective, but also made him popular among the middle classes. He had secured leadership of the party when it's previous leader, Prime Minister Frederick Pollenbrook, had resigned in the wake of the disastrous Anjuin War of Thirst. Tristam, who was Minister of Justice at the time, expected to be made Prime Minister, as well as Conservative Alliance Leader, but instead the position was given, sensationally, to the moderate liberal Squire Venion Cope. This spurred Tristam into joining the radical wing of his party, the so called Karlites, and he began a reactionary newspaper called the "Alliance Protector" in which he criticised every move of Cope's administration, and implied that the Emperor was foolish for choosing him as Prime Minister. Squire Venion Cope Venion Cope, a moderate Liberal Squire from Mollburg, was in every way a populist, who generally had the middle classes on his side. The most objectionable of his policies to Conservatives were his strict insistence on separation of Church and state, and increasing home rule powers for the SKL. This in particular caused the Imperialist League to merge with the Conservative Alliance, giving the latter an extra 14 seats in the Noble Council. He had a habit of wearing his militia commander's uniform to Council Sessions, earning him the nickname "Corporal Cope," in the popular press. The Spring Bill While some contributors to Tristam's press organ had conjectured about civil conflict caused by Parliamentary struggles, no one really took the idea seriously, that is, until Cope revealed his "Spring Bill" that was written by Cope and several radical Liberals, leading the Conservatives to accuse Cope of being a radical in disguise, and calling for his removal as they often did. The bill proposed the following: * A written constitution espousing the limits of monarchical power must be established. * The Justice system must be held supreme above all, with no exceptions. * The military must not be permitted to act in it's own interest, only that of the state. * Nobility must have their extensive priviledges limited. * The common people must have no recourse for patronage, * The Church must not interfere with the business of the state. * Soldiers will not be paid more than the national standard of 4kd a day, which is flexible. This caused nationwide uproar and applause, the church, conservatives, nobility, and large sections of the populace condemned it. Coup d'etat Two weeks later, Tristam, Von Karl and other Conservative Privy Council members held their usual 4:00pm afternoon meeting in the drawing room of the Frisa Urban Manor, owned by Lady Julia Frisa, and leased to the Conservative Alliance. An hour later, a messenger informed the group that junior officers and soldiers in the Saffira 1st Army Corps were refusing to take to duties due to the Spring Bill. This is because at the time, soldiers were paid the national 4kd a day, plus extra wages by their commanding general. These particular troops were under Von Karl's command, and were paid 8kd a day extra wages. Von Karl rushed out to survey the situation, and quickly decided to use the discontented troops as leverage in the political proceedings. Tristam was sceptical at first, but when he learned that the Royal Guard had joined the mutiny, he warmed to the idea. As word began to catch on throughout the city, Tristam travelled to the Palace Complex to negotiate with the Royal Guard Commander, Commandant-Colonel Hamilton, who agreed to participate in a political uprising in favour of the Conservatives as long as the Royal Guard regiment could guard the Palace Complex to keep the Emperor safe, to which Tristam agreed. He was allowed in to meet the Emperor and informed him of the situation, at first Richard and the court staunchly opposed to military interference in political proceedings, but realising that they were effectively held prisoner in the Palace Complex by Tristam and the Army, they declared themselves officially neutral in whatever events transpired. Extremely pleased with proceedings, Tristam asked the Emperor to make him Prime Minister, then declare a state of emergency so that emergency protocols could be activated. Von Karl was appointed Minister of War and announced via telegraph to all barracks that martial law had been declared across the country, and for the next few hours, general mobilisation occurred and all went accordingly. There was one aspect that the Conservatives had not yet confronted however: Squire Cope and the Liberals. Cope was sleeping in his study at the time, and was only informed by a morning paper that Tristam had taken over. He immediately travelled by coach to his local telegraph station (he was in Olsra at the time) and contacted General Usting, the local commander, who was a staunch liberal. Usting declared the city in ULTIMA MATRA to the Saffira Government, and his troops joined him. Cope began sending countrywide messages about the coup, and before long large parts of the mid-country had declared in favour of him, although the church remained loyal to Saffira in all cases. Both factions now realised that civil war was extremely likely. In response to Tristam's stranglehold over royal authority, Cope had his men surround the High Abbot's palace, where he forced the Pontiff to declare neutrality. Conflict began when General Von Karl had sixteen Liberal politicians shot for attempting to escape imprisonment in Saffira, sparking Cope to march south with 40,000 troops and 6,000 militia. Imperial Salvation Government & Battle of Coltec Castle Realising that civil war had effectively begun, and with letters of either allegiance or declaration of ULTIMA MATRA flooding into the capital, Prime Minister Viscount Lucas Tristam now began to organise a government in the absence of a functional Privy Council or Noble Council. Due to the fact that Richard was forced to sign whatever document Tristam placed in front of him, the latter effectively became a dictator, and as such organised the Kymurian Salvation Government, which met in the old Privy Chamber and was comprised of the following: * Prime Minister (with emergency powers): Viscount Lucas Tristam. * Financier-Director of the Imperial Bank: Lord William Hearte. * Minister of War: Grand Marshal Thaddeus von Karl. * Justicar: (an immensely powerful position combining the roles of Chief Justice and Interior Minister) Abbot Weneceslas Brozor. * Diplomat-Plenipotentiary: Lord Michael of Grolsi. Upon hearing of the oncoming army under Sqr. Cope, Tristam dispatched General Von Karl with the hastily organised "1st Army," which was Kymuria's main military formation at the time, numbering some 43,000 men and 5,000 Cavalry. Although the army lacked sparkpowder artillery, and had to make use of Coltec Castle's ancient cannons. Upon reaching the castle, Conservative forces had only two days to fortify and prepare for the oncoming assault. Things were made more difficult when 1,000 men had to be dispatched to put down a minor liberal uprising nearby, and when a section of vital castle wall collapsed hours before the first engagements. Liberal forces under the direct leadership of Cope began an intense bombardment of Coltec Castle, which according to the Liberals, "wiped out much of the Conservative's will to resist," but according to Grand Marshal von Karl, "caused much morale shock, but not many casualties." The Liberals then began an infantry assault in three columns, with the bulk of their troops concentrated against the breach made by the collapse, although the Conservative forces had superior training and equipment, their middle ranks and command structure had been decimated because many junior officers had either been killed or defected to the Liberals, meaning that Grand Marshal von Karl had to waste time dealing with minor platoon-level queries. Realising the increasingly desperate situation, Karl left the staff-room at the southern spire and joined the room-to-room melee taking place below him. The dispirited Conservative troops, who until then had been slowly giving vital ground to the Liberal attackers, were greatly bolstered by the presence of their gigantic Marshal, who instead of a sabre, carried a sparkpistol in one hand and his Marshal's baton in the other, which he used as a club. His voice was "like a foghorn" and within three hours, Liberal forces had abandoned the main passageway and retreated to their more secure foothold at the northern spire, where they slept that night. During the night, enemy troops were close enough to speak to each other, and barter for alcohol, food and dogstalk cigars. Warfare continued in this slow, attritive manner for another three weeks. War in the North A great concern of the Conservative leadership in Saffira City was that the northern regions would use this opportunity to secede or join the rebellion, however, two factors secured not only their remaining part of Kymuria, but actively joining the Conservative forces, firstly, that the nobility in the North had never supported Squire Cope's constitution, and that the ethnic Zeor region also held deeply Conservative values, and Tristam had promised them increased autonomy if they opposed the Liberals. As such, Saffira dispatched General Vladimir Gomiroff, who had grown up in Zeor, to organise an army in the North. He was able to raise 29,000 men, plus some 4,000 regulars he received from the south. General Gomiroff's strategy of war was to use his superior defensive power in order to prevent Liberal incursions, and send messages in native Zeor dialects. The army was to take a stand at Danvirk, a 70 km long, fortified defence line 200 miles west of Dannenholm. The Liberal battle plan, devised by Lieutenant General Horace Bonastre, was to confront and defeat the Northern Conservatives in open battle as quickly as possible. Conservative Defeats of 821KF While General Gomiroff's northern line was holding well against the Liberals, the Southern Theatre was not going well for the Conservatives. Despite repelling the Liberal assaults on Coltec Castle, Von Karl had been forced to withdraw his remaining 28,000 men from the fort, as supply and command had yet to improve, despite numerous assurances from Tristam that reinforcements would soon arrive. In reality, Tristam was increasingly losing control of the situation, as large parts of the army distrusted him, and in early 821KF, as Von Karl marched south, there was a massive riot of over 1 million people in Saffira, over the increased conscription rates, and the introduction of a law which allowed the families of government officials to exempt themselves from military duties. Troops eventually put down the riot, but Tristam's leadership abilities were put into question, and Emperor Richard began to openly mock him whenever he requested new legislation. As such, Tristam decided to personally lead the recently created army northward to assist Von Karl. In the Month of Pour, 821KF, Von Karl's rearguard and supply train was surrounded and destroyed at the Battle of Greyfields, causing the SKL puppet state to declare for the Liberals, and the Diarchy of Astar to withdraw funding to Saffira, effectively leaving Tristam's government dead in the water. Thousands of people fled the capital, and Priests everywhere went into hiding. Having combined their forces to a total of 37,000 infantry and only a few hundred militia-cavalry, Tristam and Von Karl prepared to face the oncoming battle with a sense of forlorn hope. That was until the arrival of an unexpected ally: General Thomas Vishnam-Bownagree. Summer of the Lion Campaign Thomas Vishnam-Bownagree, a Anjuin-born Drisham officer, arrived at Krahull just as Tristam was heading north. He commanded a self-formed detachment of Drisham troops known as the "Desert Corps," all veterans of the War of Thirst who sought new employment as soldiers of the Empire. They tended to be staunchly Conservative in outlook. Upon arrival in Kymuria proper, they numbered some 12,000 men. Tristam and Von Karl, having camped around a defensively well-suited hill, were awaiting a Liberal attack from the north with little hope of victory. Their army lacked junior officers, cavalry and artillery. Plus, supplies of powder and weapons were low, with some men carrying halberds rather than sparkmuskets. According to servants and camp staff, Tristam was insisting upon dying in the battle, and drinking heavily. The night before the battle, however, the Desert Corps arrived at camp with ample supplies they had simply refused to hand over to the Rum Government. This changed things considerably, and Vishnam-Bownagree even sent out NCO's to act as junior officers to Conservative forces. The Drisham troops, contrary to Tristam's expectations, got on well with the Kymurians, sharing out rations and bonding over military experience. Von Karl was ecstatic about the reinforcements, telling Tristam, "Wait until you see a Drisham fight, then you'll know how we held those desert islands for so long." That morning, the liberal attack began as planned, led personally by Cope. A column of troops took the eastern hills head-on, whilst another circled around the Conservative's left flank. After the initial shock drove back the Conservative troops, a bayonet-charge by the 8th Battalion of Infantry steadied the situation, causing the Liberals heavy casualties. Cope tried again, but a concentrated hail of volley fire (directed by Drisham sergeants, who bellowed orders "like screaming demons," and carried out the Drisham tradition of beating fumbling soldiers with reed canes. "We weren't at all used to it." Remarked one Private, "But by the Heavens if it didn't half knock us into shape.") demolished their assault totally, causing Cope to rally the rest of his forces in support of the flank attack, which had driven back the Conservatives back roughly half a mile, towards a place called Foxhead Woods. If they were able to march through it, they would have the Conservative army totally surrounded. Tristam and Von Karl panicked, and agreed on sending four battalions (some 14,000 men) to deal with the 15,000 Liberals about to encircle them. "General" Bownagree (officially he was just a colonel, but was widely referred to as General) waved his hand, silencing them both, and declared calmly that he would take just "a company or two" of Drishams into the wood to "stabilise things." Remarking as he left the tent, "I wonder, gentlemen, if you have read of the Thane Geranfarley, and his exploits at Taran Wood." With only 1200 men, he embarked down the hill towards Foxhead Wood at a leisurely pace. An observer remarked "the Anjuinists appear to have slung their sparkmuskets over their shoulders, and have drawn out their Kabberknifes." It is not clear what happened in the woods, but Vishnam-Bownagree emerged from the woods hours later, all his men intact and drenched in blood, with the 15,000 Liberals largely dead among the foliage, with a few others routed to "spread the stories." Asked what had happened, he replied that, "these Liberals, misguided though they are, want to remove the church and heavens from Kymurian life. I have ensured today that they will visit the heavens and apologise to the Blue Lady herself." He then placed his Kabberknife back into his sheath, as did the rest of his men. Tristam subsequently fainted, and said upon coming-to that "the Gods have sent this creature from heaven, and he will win us our war." Von Karl immediately promoted Vishnam-Bownagree to General. The Letter to End an Ideology Squire Cope rapidly retreated north to Mollburg City, unsure of what had happened at Foxhead Wood, with a few traumatised survivors raving that "black devils, knives sharp as claws" had emerged from the wood and slaughtered them. With the balance of the war now in Conservative hands, the political mood of the country changed. It was clear the war would not be the decisive and quick event Cope had banked on. A major Conservative rebellion in the SKL ended any chance of a two-front attack, and the Diarchy of Astar once again opened loans to the Saffira government. Matters were made worse when Lord Garrison Thimbauld, the liberal's second in command, was captured by a Conservative-Religious Paramilitary Group, the newly-formed Black Talons, who found on him a letter addressed to his sister. It read: "My dear Sister, how wonderful it is to finally have the time to write you. The summer here in Mollburg is glorious, despite this damned war. They say Foxhead Wood ended it all, but what nonsense that is. The Princes of Roldorf have already begun raising new armies for the Liberal cause, and soon we'll be parading through Saffira, that boy-emperor de-throned, someone sensible (eh?!) in charge, and those Anjuin monkeys spit-roasted back to that desert where they belong. No doubt we'll make those robed dunces in the church pay too. Cope won't hear of it, but I'd have the lot flayed. This war won't be quick. The country still has a lot to learn. Give my love to Frederick, and dear little Bessie. Tell her that her Uncle's going to personally boot the Emperor from the Great Spire." Needless to say, once the letter hit the popular press, the Liberal cause among the populace all but died. Emperor Richard I declared that the Liberals had betrayed his trust, and that their "paltry charter," was not worth the bloodshed. Although Cope and his Liberals totally rejected the letter, and insisted it was a Black Talons forgery, no one believed them. Lord Thimbauld was paraded through Saffira, and nearly killed by the crowds. He was later executed. However, the Liberal cause was far from finished. The letter never circulated among the northernmost press, and most though it was a forgery anyway. The following month, the Prince of Roldorf's army arrived at Mollburg, bolstered by a contingent of Zeor Mercenaries purchased as a response to the Conservative's use of Drisham troops. The Liberals scored a minor, if well-publicised victory at Gableport in late 821KF, and an indecisive but bloody battle was fought between the Conservative Drishams and the Liberal Zeoris at Tapster's Run in 822KF, earning the two elements a searing hatred of one another. The Final Push Squire Cope realised that to win the war, he had to make one more, final push on Saffira, which lacked fortifications due to its immense size, but was easy to approach from a network of paths know as the eastern cut. On the Conservative side, things were beginning to look uncertain. The SKL revolt had been crushed, and a small but battle-hardened Liberal army was approaching through the bamboo thicket. The troops holding the Danvirk in the north had won battle after battle, but had no more supplies, and in spring 822KF, General Gomiroff honourably surrendered to the Liberals, who now controlled the north in its entirety, but had some difficulty administering it. Taking advantage of the uncertainty, Cope launched a lightning strike down the Eastern Cut, which the Conservative troops had not prepared for, and despite a brave holding action by the 4th Heavy Infantry at Bloodlet Ditch, continued their advance. Tristam had returned to Saffira, leaving the more capable Von Karl and Vishnam-Bownagree in command of the field armies, and the latter two fought a five-part battle over three days, the Liberals using their cavalry and fast-moving Zeor skirmishers to destroy Conservative troops and morale. Vishnam-Bownagree personally led his men against a Zeor attack on the second day, holding them back but losing half his men in the process. He wrote to Tristam, mournfully stating that "We have won the war in the hearts and minds of the populace, but our armies can no longer offer serious resistance. We shall make a final stand at Port Ernest to spare Saffira the destruction. Long Live Holy Kymuria. I consider it a great shame that I could never meet Emperor Richard." Tristam announced the dissolution of the Imperial Salvation Government, realising it was no longer needed, as the populace now sympathised with the Conservative cause nominally. He re-instated all powers to the Emperor, and left Saffira for the last time to join his comrades at Port Ernest, a small city east of the capital. There, he met with Von Karl and Vishnam-Bownagree, who was made an honorary Grand Marshal in recognition of his service to Kymuria. Just 13,000 broken men stood at Port Ernest, and despite protests, it was agreed that the remaining 4,456 Drisham Troops should be sent home. A solemn farewell parade was carried out that afternoon. The battle was short and intense. Conservative units fought to the death, though their Liberal enemies offered quarter in all cases. Von Karl led a charge into the heart of the Liberal assault, but was pulled from his horse and captured. Vishnam-Bownagree met a similar fate whilst fighting on foot. Lucas Tristam voluntarily surrendered to Cope, and was held with the two others in a nearby castle dungeon. Executions and Aftermath Cope made it clear that he wanted a fair and open trial, and that execution should be avoided as a sentence, but his radical adjutants would have none of it, and set up a military court rather than a civil one. The trials lasted two days, and at one point, Ancena Vishnam-Bownagree arrived to plead her husband's case. The court did not listen, and Marshal Von Karl carried the hysterical woman from the room to save her from witnessing any further prosecutions. The verdicts were as such: * '''VISCOUNT LUCAS TRISTAM - '''Charges of Conspiracy against the Imperial Cabinet, plead guilty. Charges of unlawful declaration of ULTIMA MATRA against the Liberal cause, plead not guilty. Charges of unlawful manipulation of the emperor and high courts, plead not guilty. * '''GRAND MARSHAL THADDEUS VON KARL - '''Charges of Conspiracy against the Imperial Cabinet, plead guilty. Charges of compliance in the schemes of the condemned Viscount Lucas Tristam, plead guilty. Charges of usage and support of unlawful paramilitary, plead not guilty. * '''GRAND MARSHAL THOMAS VISHNAM-BOWNAGREE - '''Charges of unlawful activities regarding the transport and usage of Drisham Soldiers, plead Guilty. Charges of active compliance in the schemes of the condemned Viscount Lucas Tristam, plead guilty. Charges of total and indiscriminate slaughter of soldiers at Foxhead Wood, refusal to offer proper quarter, plead not guilty. The verdict was read out by Judge-attendant Colonel Ramsay Smith: "I hereby pass sentence on the three individuals stood before me, three men who are righteously found guilty of all charges pressed against them. Three men who fought for a doomed and backwards cause, who fought in the most dishonorable and indicriminate manner possible, who have held up the proceedings of this trial by a highly inconsiderate amount of time. Obviously, the court finds you totally and utterly guilty and sentences you all to face the firing squad tomorrow morning." The three men were executed as promised.